Hi Oliver,

Chattanooga Trivea by John Shearer

I’ve lived in seven different states since leaving my hometown in Louisiana, but never longer in one state than Tennessee and in particular Chattanooga.  I’m still living just over the Tennessee border in North Georgia but it is so close to Chattanooga that if you miss the signs, the only way of knowing is the pavement in the road might change.

Chattanooga sits in a valley surrounded by mountains, ridges, and the Tennessee River.  It was the perfect place for General Sherman to make camp before marching into Atlanta during the Civil War.  Before the war, Chattanooga was just a town on a busy river, but after the war carpetbaggers from the north and Union soldiers came back to settle in the valley.

It survived floods and a period of industry that smothered it in smog for years.  Until one day the wonderful people of Chattanooga declared they would turn their town around and it was done.  Home to many famous products such as Olan Mills Portrait Studios, McKee Foods maker of Little Debbie snacks, Chattanooga Bakery known for the Moon Pies, Krystal restaurants, Chattem, Inc. producer of health products, U.S. Xpress and Covenant Transport  based in Chattanooga, and the Brock Candy Company (which later became Brach & Brock Candy).  But by far the most famous success story was the establishment of the first franchised Coca Cola Bottling Company in America which led to the establishment by the families who benefited from this success of several foundations that support Chattanooga and make it what it is today.

Clean, smog-free, and home to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga State College, Lee University, Southern Adventist University, Covenant College, Bryan College, and Dalton State College; Memorial Hospital, Erlanger Hospital,  and Parkridge Medical Center; as well as private schools and award-winning public schools, the people of Chattanooga and surrounding areas  are proud of their heritage.

Tourism is now a big factor in the success of Chattanooga.  The Tennessee Aquarium boasts both a fresh and salt water museum with a hands-on experience for children and adults alike.  The entire riverfront has been transformed to hosts walking trails, parks, and home to the Delta Queen Riverboat, listed in the U.S. Historic Landmark is now a hotel and the oldest bridge across the Tennessee River, the Walnut Street Bridge, one of five bridges in Chattanooga is a walking bridge that connects the Bluff View Art District with the NorthShore Business District.  And nestled between hotels, museums, restaurants, and retail stores is the AT&T Baseball stadium home to the Chattanooga Lookouts minor league baseball team.

Downtown Chattanooga rests in a bend in the river known as Moccasin Bend.  Ross’ Landing, on the Riverwalk in downtown Chattanooga is part of  the Cherokee  Trail of Tears which ended in what is now the state of Oklahoma.  North of the city is Walden’s Ridge home of the Town of Signal Mountain where Signal Point is part of the Chattanooga-Chickamauga National Military Park.  Although used as a signaling point during the Civil War, the Cherokee Indians first took advantage of the magnificent view of the Tennessee River Gorge, the deepest gorge east of the Mississippi River.

North of Chattanooga is Lookout Mountain which draws tourists from all over the world to ride the Incline Railroad up the side of the mountain, hike deep into the mountain to see Ruby Falls, or stand at the edge of Rock City and be able to see seven states on a clear day.  South of the city, just over the state line in Georgia are Rossville (home of 2011 American Idol runner-up Lauren Alana and the 2011 ABC TV’s Extreme Makeover Home); Ft. Oglethorpe, Ringgold, and Chickamauga (home of the Chickamauga Battlefield scene of the last major Confederate victory in the Civil War.)  East of Chattanooga is the newest industry to Hamilton County, the Volkswagen Plant which began production in early 2011.

So you can see Oliver, Chattanooga is a city rich in history; diverse in its culture; beautiful four seasons; generous foundations; great outdoor adventures; and especially people who enjoy living in the crossroads to the rest of the United States for it is said that at one time because of Chattanooga’s geographical setting anyone traveling North or South had to go through Chattanooga to get there.

Fortunately for me and my family, we stayed!

P.S. – Oliver is a fith grade student.  His class is doing a geography project.  I was asked to write in his “Traveling Notebook” about where I live.

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Inspired to Write

I knew I wanted to write when I picked up a paperback copy of a Phyllis Whitney mystery. I was fourteen and on a Girl Scout trip to Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas.  Our school bus stopped at a gas station and the book was on a wire turnstile.  I finished it by the end of the weekend and was inspired to write my own novel in a notebook as the bus took us back home. (Somewhere packed away in the attic is that notebook; although I could never compete with America’s Queen of Gothic Romance!)

Thirty years later I found myself writing for a local newspaper, reporting on local events and people.  And although it was rewarding, I did not feel the inspiration I needed until I participated in the first Festival of Writers sponsored by the Arts and Education Council of Chattanooga. I took a class led by Clyde Edgerton that turned my world around.  Among many of the lessons I learned, one was to carry a small notebook with me at all times.  Here I write things I hear people say, contact numbers of people I meet who have a story to tell, and even thoughts or ideas for stories that come to mind.  To be inspired by one of America’s best-loved storytellers; well folks, it just doesn’t get much better.

Unless you get a second chance to join a writers group.  I got that a few days ago.  My first writers group was so good and set the standard for any writers group I might later join.  My first disbanded four years ago and so it was with some trepidation that I showed up to a new group in my area.  Six writers met in the conference room of our local library; all came with the same hopes and dreams of publishing.  And we all left inspired to write- a note to everyone praising the new group, an old novel tucked away in a drawer, a sample of our writing, or commit to posting a blog a day as I did.

 

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